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12 rounded up for burning effigy
Tension still grips the dera
Bid to hold procession by ‘premis’
Haryana strengthens security to avoid clash
Writ in high court |
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Cane growers to get arrears
2 brothers shot dead
PM to address rally today
DC asks cops to book tehsildar
Computer centre owner booked
Council president alleges smear campaign
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12 rounded up for burning effigy
Karnal/Kaithal, May 18 As many as 12 persons were rounded up by the police after they burnt the effigy in the town. Till the time of filing the report, several district officials were camping in the town to control the situation.SP Navdeep Virk told The Tribune that certain Sikh youths from Karnal district had assembled in a gurdwara and attempted to burn the effigy. He said the mob also tried to breach the Section 144 (unlawful assembly with deadly weapons). "After we prevented them from carrying lathis, barcchis and other weapons, the youths stoned the police,'' he said. Several protesters have also received injuries. Meanwhile, a day after followers of Dera Sacha Sauda were cane-charged by the Karnal police, no untoward incident was reported from Karnal and Kurukshetra districts. Heavy armed police forces were deployed by the administration at gurdwaras and deras in these districts. Though meetings by the Sikhs were held at several places, no major incident was reported. Reports reaching here confirmed that Sikhs staged a protest at Shahbad and Pehowa in Kurukshetra district, but it remained peaceful. The DC and SP were present at Shahbad, who successfully prevented the Sikhs from burning the effigy. Sources said the dera followers had also gathered at a temple in the town. Sensing a sharp reaction against the burning of the effigy or photographs of the dera head, the district authorities had controlled the situation. The protesting Sikhs submitted a memorandum to the DC against the dera and raised slogans in a local gurdwara. At Pehowa, Sikhs gathered at a local gurdwara and lodged a protest.
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Tension still grips the dera
Sirsa, May 18 The district administration has imposed Section 144 CrPC in public places. Two more contingents of the Haryana Armed Police were also deployed to maintain the law and order situation here. A meeting of senior officials, including ADGP (law and order) V.B Singh, IG Y.P Singla and the Deputy Commissioner V. Umashankar and the SP Vikas Arora, held a meeting in the morning and later all officials visited different places to review the situation. The situation has been aggravated with the continued protest of the supporters carrying banners at the dera demanding President's rule in Punjab and dismissal of SAD-led government since yesterday after incidents of burning of deras properties reported from different parts of Punjab. Even Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today cancelled his visit to the city to attend three functions. The police sources believed so far 60,000 supporters reached the dera but insiders pointed out that as followers' flow continued, the strength could be much more. They have been camping at different places in the dera. After the tension reached its zenith the office-bearers of the dera, mainly chief spokesman Dr Aditya Arora addressed the followers from the gallery of the administrative block informing them about the latest developments and the dera chief's appeals. Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh also addressed his followers in the morning. Besides other sensitive areas, the RAF was deployed in large numbers along the road which led to the dera near Kirtinagal police post. While inside the dera, law and order was maintained by dera sevadars. who were seen carrying batons for self-defense in case of any eventuality. The deputy commissioner V.Umashankar said the situation was under control and that they had restricted assembly of more than five persons on public places. Besides it, the administration deployed sufficient force to maintain law and order.
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Bid to hold procession by ‘premis’
Fatehabad, May 18 Hundreds of followers of the dera assembled at the local dera in the morning and shouted slogans against Badal government in Punjab. Dera leaders Om Parkash Insan, Narsi Goyal, Lachhman Dass and Tek Chand Sethi alleged that the SAD-BJP government in Punjab was instigating violence in the area. The followers held the Punjab government responsible for the damage caused to dera buildings at various parts of Punjab. They had planned to take out procession in the town, but tehsildar Gian Parkash Bishnoi reached there and advised them not to go ahead with their plans. |
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Haryana strengthens security to avoid clash
Chandigarh, May 18 With today’s request made by Haryana, the demand for paramilitary forces sought by the state from the Centre for deployment rose to 20 companies. Earlier, the state government had sought 10 companies in the wake of the religious strife triggered off by the controversial advertisement released by the chief of the dera. The Centre, however, agreed to give the state six companies of the BSF and RAF in lieu of the 10 companies demanded by it. The six companies of paramilitary forces have been put at the disposal of SP, Sirsa. This is because the main premise of the dera is located in Sirsa district and the additional forces are needed there to thwart any offensive by the followers of the cult. The state government today also clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Cr PC in eight districts of the state with immediate effect as a precautionary measure. The districts are, Sirsa, Faridabad, Jind, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Ambala and Yamunanagar. An official spokesman urged people to maintain communal harmony and peace and refrain from listening to rumours of any kind. Hisar district, where the Prime Minister is slated to address two rallies tomorrow, has not been brought under the purview of Section 144. Fatehabad district, which is situated between Sirsa and Hisar and has a strong presence of the followers of the dera, also does not figure among the districts in which Section 144 has been clamped. While state government sources point out that none of the two parties involved in the strife has said anything with regard to the PM’s programme in Haryana, the violent incidents in neighbouring Punjab and in Karnal in Haryana yesterday have cast a shadow on the VVIP’s visit. “We are taking all possible measures so that nothing untoward happens in Hisar or at any other place in the state during the visit by the PM”, a senior police officer, who was on his way to Hisar to review the security arrangements for the PM’s tour programme, told this reporter. He claimed that the police action at Karnal yesterday against protesters gave a clear message that nobody would be allowed to mess with the law and order situation in the state.
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Writ in high court
Chandigarh, May 18 Framing a policy to “regulate and control rallies” have been necessitated by a writ petition filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court here by Jagmohan Singh
Bhatti. The petitioner has moved the court for formation of state-level and national level policies to controlrallies so that the lives of people are not disrupted. The Chief secretary of Haryana has been made a party in the case. Since the state government is in agreement with the contention of the petitioner, it has been decided to draw up a policy on rallies and get it approved by the Chief Minister before a reply is filed in the court. One of the highlights of the policy will be ban on bringing people to rally sites by tractor trolleys and other modes of transport that are ordinarily used for carrying goods. Only buses, jeeps and cars, which are meant to be used as passenger vehicles, will be allowed for ferrying people for attending a rally. The policy will also ensure that rallies are held only at sites which have been already identified by the government. The number of the sites in a city will depend on the size of the place. A big city may have more than one site for holding a rally. The policy will also make it mandatory for organisers to seek permission from the authorities before holding a rally. While permission is required even now for organising rallies, the party in power in the state usually does not obtain permission when it holds a rally. The policy will introduce a uniform system applicable to both ruling party and its opponents. Arrangement for parking of vehicle used for bringing people to the rally, preventing people as well as vehicles from creating traffic congestion as well other steps to prevent causing inconvenience to residents of a place where a rally will be held will also figure in the policy. |
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Cane growers to get arrears
Chandigarh, May 18 The mill had gone to the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the fixation of the cane price by the state government and had obtained a stay order. Though the state government did not fix the cane price for 2002-03, it asked the cooperative sector sugar mills to pay about Rs 16 more than the minimum support price fixed by the Centre. While the cooperative mills followed the government's directions, the Yamunanagar mill did not agree. Its plea was that the state had no right to fix the price. While granting the stay, the court directed that issue should be settled after the Supreme Court decided a bunch of similar writ petitions pending before it. The High Court had, however, directed the mill to pay interest to the farmers at 18 per cent per annum if the case was decided against it by the apex court. The Supreme Court upheld the right of the state governments to fix the cane price above the msp fixed by the Centre. The case of the Yamunanagar mill, however, remained pending before the High Court because the Supreme Court said the final decision in the Haryana case would be taken by the High Court. Last year in July an agreement was reached between a section of the canegrowers and the mill in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda that the mill would pay the arrears without interest without waiting for the High Court's judgement. However, due to certain legal technicalities the agreement could not be implemented. The mill sought the permission of the High Court to withdraw the case pending before it. The mill informed the court that though the state government had not fixed the cane price for 2002-03, it was willing to pay the higher price in the interest of farmers. The state government also filed an affidavit admitting that it had not fixed the price for that year. The court allowed the mill to withdraw its case on April 25 last. Welcoming the development, Haryana Congress Secretary Satpal Kaushik, said a problem created by the Chautala government had been solved by the present government. This is a big
financial relief to the canegrowers who have been fighting for their just due for so many years. |
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2 brothers shot dead
Kaithal, May 18 According to reports, the victims were awarded life sentence in connection with a murder case and were at present on bail from the Panjab and Haryana High Court. According to information, the assailants first killed Tara Chand (40), who was going to receive his sons who were reportedly coming to the village in train from Kurukshetra. The assailants, who were chasing the victim, sorrounded him on the way. Tara Chand tried to escape but the assailants fired two shots at him and killed him on the spot. Following this, they reached the house of Ram Sarup (43) and called him out. He was also shot at and attacked with some sharp-edged weapon. Ram Sarup also died on the spot. Till the evening, no case was registered.
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PM to address rally today
Hisar, May 18 The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of a 1200 MW thermal power plant at Khedar village, about 10 km from
Barwala. The entire district administration has been working round the clock for the past several days to finalise the arrangements. All senior civil and police officers were summoned to Delhi for consultations with the Special Protection group officials and the PM secretariat. A helipad has been constructed at Khedar where the PM’s chopper will land. According to sources the rally venue has been divided into 24 sectors for the purpose of policing. Besides the district police, reinforcements have been summoned from neighbouring districts,
Madhuban. Mounted police units will also be deployed to ensure law and order. Traffic restrictions and regulations have been finalised for the duration of the rally. The Khedar-Barwala road will remain closed to traffic on May 19 in view of the
PM’s visit. |
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DC asks cops to book tehsildar
Fatehabad, May 18 Acting on the directions of Haryana Industries Minister Lakshman Dass Arora, deputy commissioner O.P. Sheoran yesterday asked
the police to take necessary action. Some residents appeared before the minister during a meeting of the District Public Relations and Grievances Redressal Committee yesterday. They levelled allegations of corruption on the
tehsildar. |
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Computer centre owner booked
Rewari, May 18 The centre was continuing fresh enrolment of trainees by using the company’s proprietary material even after termination of the agreement in March, 2004. On a complaint filed by Manju Nath Panchal, a manager of Aptech, the police has registered a case under sections 420, 468, 471 of the IPC against him. The complainant alleged that in spite of termination of the agreement, the owner of the centre unauthorisedly used Aotech's name. He further alleged that the discarded franchisee had recently enrolled 60 trainees using the name of the company. The matter came to light only after the manager of the company and Chand Veer Singh had recently been summoned by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum. A petition was filed by Prithvi Singh Yadav, a resident of Gokalgarh village, near here, whose niece Asha Kumari was a trainee at the centre.
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Dera row: Protests continue Ambala, May 18 Brandishing swords they raised slogans and demanded the arrest of the dera chief. Earlier, the youths gathered at gurdwara Badshahi Bagh in Ambala City. Senior leaders of the Haryana Akali Dal, including Sant Singh Kandhari, Sukhdev Singh Gobindgarh and Ajit Singh Sounda, also reached there. They persuaded the youths to not to take out any procession till the final verdict of Akal Takht came. But the youths did not agree with the leaders and took out procession in the city which culminated at gurdwara Manji Sahib. Former president of the Haryana Akali Dal Sukhdev Singh Gobindgar said the state government should lodge a case against the dera chief and impose a ban on the activities of the dera. Meanwhile, Ambala district magistrate R.P. Bhardwaj gave orders for the imposition of Section 124 in the district. Senior officers of the administration are deputed as duty magistrate in various subdivisions to keep watch on the situation. The Ambala police is also keeping a close watch on the Haryana-Punjab border.
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Council president alleges smear campaign Ambala, May 18 In a statement issued here, Neelam said in spite of the development work she had carried out in various wards she was being targeted by the vested interest. Claiming that “the truth will soon emerge”, she said her drive against corruption would continue in the future. On infighting, she said it could be resolved through dialogue. In a letter to the district president, seven councillors had alleged that the president had been misusing her office for personal benefits, which had tarnished the party’s image. “There is nothing wrong in carrying out repair of the official car. The car was used by other officials till the day the allegations were levelled against me. An employee maintains the record of the diesel consumption of generator,” she said. She termed the allegation of embezzlement baseless. “I disallowed the clearance of illegal construction and hence the allegations have been levelled against me.” The emergency provisions of Section 35 have been used by the presidents in the past and there was nothing wrong in it, she added.
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